File photo of the produce section at a Canadian grocery store. (FatCamera/E+/Getty Images)

Trudeau summons top grocers over rising food prices

Major grocers' level of profit 'does not make sense,' PM says

Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said he had summoned the country’s top grocers to help find solution to the surging food prices and vowed to cut federal taxes on new rental buildings, as he fights an affordability crisis that has dented his party’s opinion poll ratings. After meeting with Liberal […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on signals of supply, weather concerns

CBOT wheat falls on higher U.S. dollar, corn pressured by wheat

New York | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures turned higher amid a volatile trading session on Thursday, as commodities traders wrestled with tight domestic supplies and uncertainty over weather impacts on the current U.S. crop. Analysts said that market participants are focusing on how the recent extreme heat waves across the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill agrees to sell stake in Russian grain terminal

Buyer says deal under government review

Reuters — U.S.-based commodities trader Cargill said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its stake in a Russian grain terminal to Russia’s Delo Group. “In line with Cargill’s earlier announcement to stop the export of Russian grain in July 2023, we can confirm we have reached an agreement with Delo to sell our 25 […] Read more

File photo of seasonal agriculture workers from Jamaica at Suncrest Orchards near Simcoe, Ont. (Farmtario photo by Diana Martin)

UN rapporteur calls Canada’s TFW system ‘breeding ground for modern slavery’

Tomoya Obokata says government needs to better protect worker rights and provide better residency path

A United Nations special rapporteur on modern slavery has called out Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs, including those in the agriculture sector. Tomoya Obokata, who was appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council, spoke in Ottawa Sept. 6 following a 14-day visit to Canada. He called the programs “a breeding ground for contemporary forms […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Canada bumps up wheat harvest view, trims canola estimate

StatCan releases yield outlook as of Aug. 31

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers will harvest slightly more wheat and a bit less canola than expected earlier in summer, but dry conditions will keep both crops small, a government report showed on Thursday. Farms in North and South America, Europe and Australia are facing crop losses as extreme weather spreads over an unusually […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Harvest pressure to weigh on canola

StatCan report not expected to cause much stir

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market posted gains for the first time in more than a week on Wednesday, but damage was done from a chart standpoint with mounting harvest pressure amid relatively favourable Prairie weather conditions likely to weigh on values over the next few weeks. “It’s that time of year,” said Jamie […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies on Black Sea tensions

Corn prices follow wheat higher, soy gains as traders eye crop yields

New York | Reuters — Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose for a second straight session on Wednesday, as Russia reported Ukrainian strikes on a naval base in the grain-rich Black Sea region and Kyiv said its grain exports dropped sharply. Kyiv said on Wednesday more than 100 of its port […] Read more

(PortOfThunderBay.com)

Thunder Bay grain shipments up on year

Grain traffic contributes to increase in overall cargo handle

MarketsFarm — Grain shipments through the Port of Thunder Bay are running well ahead of the year-ago level, with 3.747 million tonnes of grain shipped through the port on the northern shores of Lake Superior as of Aug. 31. That was up by 1.1 million tonnes from the previous year’s pace, but slightly behind the […] Read more


File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

EU ag commissioner pushes for extension of Ukraine grain import ban

Restrictions due to expire Friday

Brussels/Bucharest | Reuters — The EU agriculture commissioner said on Tuesday said he believes the European Commission should extend a temporary ban on Ukraine imports into five neighouring EU states, as the measure helped boost exports outside the bloc. Ukraine has become entirely dependent on alternative European Union routes, called Solidarity Lanes, for its grain […] Read more

CBOT December 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Futures sharply lower on U.S. harvest outlook

Wheat bounces on smaller-than-expected world stocks forecast

New York | Reuters — Chicago soybeans plummeted to a three-week low and corn sharply dropped on Tuesday after a government report said crops were not hampered as much as some traders had expected by hot and dry summer weather. The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its outlook for the corn harvest, as expectations for […] Read more